So What's the Story?
by daisygirl101
Summary: "So what's the story with these Ringtail?" Nobody touches those green clue bottles but me. NOBODY.


Summer break means replaying video games. Replaying video games mean Sly Cooper time. Wooop!

I kinda missed this fandom for a while. I shall come back now.

This takes place during Sly Cooper 3, in the Chinese Panda King world with General Tsao.

Sly Cooper © Sucker Punch/Sanzaru Games/Sony

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"28!" I yelled gleefully after picking up another glass bottle. These blasted things had been distracting me for _hours, _no matter how much bickering I got from Bentley about "moving the mission along and staying on schedule and such". I gazed over the snow-covered rooftops of the small Chinese village as the moon illuminated the faces of the guards that passed by. My ears perked up when I heard a glass-clinking noise. I whirled around to see bottle number 29 awaiting me atop a light post. I chuckled gleefully as I ran towards it. With a swing of the cane in my hand, I had smashed the bottle and nabbed the piece of paper inside.

_29 down… one to go._

I wanted into the vault more than anything right now. I had found 29 bottles already; I only needed one more. _This couldn't be too hard!_

I was very, very wrong.

As I searched the rooftops of China, I was only greeted with monkey guards, trying to fight me off. I climbed the large pagoda, hoping to gain a better view, but it was no use. The sudden shriek of my turtle friend slightly startled me.

"SLY! Have you finished your mission yet?" I hissed at the unnecessarily loud turtle.

"No Bentley, I'm working on something here. Relax, I've got this," I replied coolly.

"You'd better, because at this rate, we'll be behind schedule!"

"It's not my fault those blasted bottles are so hard to find. Just gimme a while longer; I'll be done before you know it. All in a night's work, pal," I explained. Bentley sighed.

"Fine. I'll work more on the clues you've collected. But remember, we've got a wedding to stop!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," I said casually. I heard the line go dead on the other end. That Bentley, all work and no play. Now where's the fun in that?

I turned my head to the right. In the distance, I could see General Tsao's treasure house perched on a white-coated frosty hill. I admired the gold trim on the building for a minute; the bird had some taste. But, wait…

No… could it be?

A green object bobbed happily on top of the roof of the treasure house. Yes! That was it! The 30th bottle, at last!

Not caring where I really landed, I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, knocking out any guard that stood in my way. I wasn't about to let anyone stop me from getting that bottle! I scaled the side of the treasure house and climbed up onto the roof, almost laughing with joy. My laughter stopped when I looked up. The bottle, where was it?!

"So what's the story with these, Ringtail?" My head shot to my right, where a gorgeous fox stood on the roof. Her blue curls graced her brown eyes perfectly, and her Spanish accent made my heart skip beats. Although her beauty always astounded me, it wasn't the first thing I noticed this time. Instead, my eyes were locked onto the green glass bottle she was examining in her paw. My mouth hung open. Nobody touches those but me. _Nobody. _Her actions rendered me speechless. Normally I would throw a flirty remark at her, but nobody takes my bottles and gets away with it. Her eyes flickered to mine and she chuckled. "Glass bottle got your tongue Ringtail?" Wait, found my game. I smirked.

"More like fox got my tongue. Good to see you again gorgeous," I remarked. She scoffed.

"I asked you a question-"

"And I answered it," I finished, interrupting her sentence. "Do I get to ask a question now?" I playfully asked, paw over my heart. "Perhaps I can ask it to you over a glass of wine and a nice dinner somewhere?"

"I'm not here for a date, Ringtail," she retorted, paw still firmly gripping the glass bottle.

"That's a shame. I hear there's a really great sushi place just down the road. Wouldn't it be a bummer if neither of us ever got to try it?" I asked kindly, playing up my smirk.

"The only thing you'll get to try is jail life, Cooper," Carmelita said.

"Ouch Carm, I'm hurt. Maybe you could fix my heart by handing over that bottle in your hand?" I asked, reaching my hand out while leaning on my family heirloom. She raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe you could tell me what this thing is before I haul your ass to jail?" I winced.

"My dear Ms. Fox, if you want to lock me up so badly, you could just tell me. We could have _lots _of fun," I said with a wink.

"Shut up, Ringtail, and tell me what this bottle is before I smash it over your head," she quipped, no longer amused by my flirty remarks.

"I need it. That's all you really need to know, isn't it?" I asked with a smirk. I slowly stepped closer until we could feel one another's breathe on our cheeks. She seemed slightly flustered, but kept her cool.

"Cooper, I'm warning you…"

"Warning me about what?" I asked, my paw slowly finding her pistol and removing it. She seemed too ruffled to notice as I hooked it onto my belt.

"I'll… I'll smash this bottle!" Carmelita yelled and took a step back. She stumbled, not realizing how close to the edge of the roof we'd gotten. Beyond the roof lied a small patch of snow before a long drop into the icy cold sea. I quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her form against me. Her eyes widened and her breath picked up.

"My my, someone is certainly off their game today. Perhaps it's the cold?" I asked teasingly. I wrapped my other arm around her waist with my cane against her back. She growled.

"Paws off, Cooper," she said, although there was a hint in her voice telling me she was lying.

"Don't lie to me, Carm. I can see it in those fetching eyes of yours; you're enjoying this," I replied, my mouth only inches from hers. I hooked the bottle into the curve of my cane slowly so she wouldn't notice. "I'd love to stick around, but I have places to be," I said. All at once, I released my hold on her and took off running in the opposite direction, her pistol hooked onto my belt. I laughed gleefully as she yelled after me. I heard her boot steps loudly coming after me. As I ran, I stuff the last piece of paper into my pocket and destroyed the 30th bottle. I dashed around a corner and climbed a bamboo stock up onto a hill. I lied on my stomach with my cane by my side and twirled her pistol in my fingers. She skidded to a stop in front of the hill.

"Cooper! Get down here, now!" I chuckled.

"You're cute when you're angry, Inspector Fox," I replied, completely ignoring her request. She huffed in frustration, trying to hide the red that crept up her cheeks. She paced back and forth a few times. I knew she couldn't climb that bamboo stock, and this hill was in no way climbable. It was pretty sheer, and there didn't seem to be another way up. I smiled in adoration as the Spanish fox below me paced angrily. "So what's the story with you?" I asked curiously.

"What?" Carmelita asked, suddenly thrown off her guard.

"You've never told me what made you become a cop. Now I find myself quite curious," I said, drumming my fingers on the ground.

"I'd love to tell you, after I haul your ass to jail and we can spend some time together there," she replied, her eyes narrowed on me.

"Awww, Carm, you're no fun," I replied with mock sadness. "We could spend time together somewhere else too. I hear jail isn't that nice of a place," I explained.

"Cooper, I swear, when I get my hands on you…" She clenched her hands into fists and sighed heavily. She pressed her back against the hill and slid down, rubbing her temples as she went. I slid down the bamboo stock and plopped down next to her.

"Are you gonna tell me?" I asked, making her jump.

"You have no idea how badly I want to strangle you right now," she said with an unpleased look.

"I guess that's a no…" I said and trailed off. We sat in silence for a while, a strange thing for us.

"I made the decision when I was six," she began suddenly. My thoughts focused back on her as she began talking. "My madre, bless her soul, always had bruises and cuts on her. I never understood why until I turned 6. That was when he swung at me," she said and trailed off slightly. My ears perked up. "My madre was late coming home from work, and I had already walked home from school. My father was waiting for me. One hand contained a glass bottle, the other was clenched into a fist. I looked up at him sadly as he broke the bottle over my head. I blacked out instantly. When I woke up, my madre was with me, and my father was being hauled off to jail by a wolf in uniform. That wolf had saved my madre and I. I knew instantly I what I wanted to do," Carmelita explained, one tear sliding down her cheek. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Oh, Carm…" I had never seen this girl cry. Never. She was tougher than dozens of the crooks I'd stolen from. She was Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox, for goodness sakes. I placed my cheek atop her head as she cried more. "Shhh, it's okay. You're okay," I whispered into her blue hair. I barely make out a handful of small scars atop her head. _The beer bottle…he gave her scars. _It was as if realization suddenly hit her and she sat back up and quickly wiped her tears.

"That's in the past. It shouldn't be dwelt upon," Carmelita said. It was as if she suddenly retorted to the brick wall version of herself. The comforting connection between us was broken. We were playing cops and robbers again.

"Carm…" She stood up quickly.

"You've got ten seconds Ringtail," she said firmly. I wasn't about to pull another Krack-Karov incident. I grabbed my cane and began to leap back to the safe house. _I just wish she was more open… She shuts the world out._

As I climbed the small cliff that lead up to the safe house, I realized her pistol was still hanging off my belt. I sighed and unhooked it. _She'll want this back. _I fired one shot into the air, knowing it would draw her attention. She came running around a corner only a minute later.

"You forgot a little something on the hill," I said teasingly. She stomped over, and I almost took a step back in fear.

"You're damn right I did." She snatched my collar and smashed her lips to mine. My eyes shot wide open, but after a second, they relaxed closed. I tossed the gun to the ground and wrapped my arms around her waist as her tongue glided across my lips. I peeked open an eye to see Bentley, Murray, Penelope, the Guru, and the Panda King all watching with mixed expressions of disgust and cheerfulness. I smirked and focused back on my fox. We broke off for lack of oxygen.

"So when we get married and have kids, what are we going to tell them when they as 'so what's the story'?" I asked with a lighthearted smirk. She just rolled her eyes, mirrored my smirk, and kissed me again.

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Okayyyy, I'm gonna go beat Dimitri right now. Then on to Rajan! See ya (:


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